Mark Duncan / Associated PressThe ball had already eluded Cincinnati's Jordan Shipley when T.J. Ward administered the hit that kept reverberating on Monday. Regardless of the fine handed out by the NFL, says Bill Livingston, the Browns are likely very pleased by the physical reputation being built by Ward and the defense.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- T.J. Ward is on the last line of the Browns' defense. He is a safety, a term with ironic connotations after what happened Sunday.

Browns' linebacker Scott Fujita said the back of the defense is full of players who are "head-hunters by design."

Their hits are savage for a reason. Their job is to "fly around," which means hurling their body recklessly at opponents. Their mandate is to "break up" passes, which means instilling in the receiver the paranoia that everyone is, indeed, out to get him. For them, there is no single "point of contact" then, only a world of hurt.

The message the Wards of the NFL deliver is for opponents to watch themselves and to walk on egg shells. But any player so coerced has lost his initiative.

"For safeties trying to make a play on the ball, especially in the end zone, it's hard to have pinpoint accuracy on where you hit someone," said Fujita.

There is a framework of rules designed to lessen player concussions and to police head-to-head contact. Post-game study of film often must be used to divide "right" from "wrong" on hits and to calibrate fines for violations. The game is that fast. Contact is that hard to decipher at such a fast-forward pace.

Ward drove his helmet into the head of Cincinnati's Jordan Shipley Sunday in the end zone, felling Shipley as surely as if he had gotten on the bad side of a lightning bolt. If Shipley wasn't out cold, he was close to it. His eyes, teammates said, were rolling up, like a shade flying up to let storm glare fill a room.

Tony Dejak / Associated PressThe dazed look of Jordan Shipley after Ward's hit on Sunday is hardly unusual -- no matter how much the NFL wants to sanitize its league, says Bill Livingston.

The play did not save points. It cost them. It led to a first down by penalty and on the next play to Cincinnati's final touchdown in the Browns' 23-20 win.

Replays showed the ball hit the ground after Eric Wright broke up the pass an instant before the hit. Ward cocked his shoulder, but he rocketed into Shipley helmet to helmet. Even though Bengals coach Marvin Lewis Monday cited the play as a "forearm to head" shot, Ward's forearm missed everything.

The realization that the hit was helmet-to-helmet came only after repeated replays on YouTube. It shows how tough the referees have it.

It also shows the inherent contradiction of football. It must be played on the farthest fringes of control at high speed. But blows to the head are off limits, and the flags will fly if they are delivered, and Big Brother in the NFL office will be watching the game films to calculate possible fines.

Ward will justifiably be fined, because defenseless players like Shipley have to be protected.

At the same time, Ward is in the NFL because he is a big hitter. He played in an elite program at Oregon because opponents' heads were on a swivel in the secondary, on Ward alert. And now, he is in the NFL because he is a big hitter.

"He is an aggressive, physical guy that's a big hitter. That's one of the things that's really attractive about him. One of the things I love about him, the way he can do that," said Browns coach Eric Mangini.

The Browns -- even the offensive players who had to empathize with Shipley (for there, but for the grace of a crossing pattern, go they) -- say Ward is not a dirty player. Yet players know what is a good, clean, hard hit and what is not. Had it been a Browns receiver who caught the full, circuits-blowing charge of such a blow, their quarterback, Seneca Wallace, would have been protesting just as loudly as was Carson Palmer.

Mangini also noted the play came on third down. "We were penalized for it, and it cost us a touchdown," said Mangini. "I don't think he got away with anything. It gave them a new set of downs and a touchdown instead of a field goal [on fourth down]."

Mangini said he expects Ward to be fined. Still, every team wants a big hitter like Ward.

On the streets of Cleveland, it is assault and battery. On the field at Cleveland Browns Stadium Sunday, it was half the distance to the goal.

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